1. Field of Art
This invention relates generally to apparatus for holding firearms in a secure, yet readily available location inside or on a vehicle. With further specificity, this invention is a gun holder which lends itself to being used in a variety of vehicles, and which holds a gun in a position which may be easily accessed by the driver or passenger of the vehicle and therefore rapidly put into use.
2. Related Art
Guns of almost any type represent a significant investment and may otherwise hold great value to the owner/user, for sentimental reasons and the like. It behooves the owner/user to maintain guns in good condition, both mechanically and cosmetically. As a result, many different types of gun xe2x80x9ccasesxe2x80x9d have been used over the years, ranging from xe2x80x9csoftxe2x80x9d cases to trunk-like xe2x80x9chardxe2x80x9d cases. Soft cases are typically some sort of sleeve (usually of outer fabric or leather) with a padded interior. Access to the interior of the soft case is often with a zipper or hook and loop fastener, or other well known means. Hard cases may be made of metal such as aluminum, wood, or various plastics. Usually, hard cases are hinged, luggage-fashion, with foam inserts or the like inside to conform to the shape of the gun.
Another type of hard case is shaped more like a scabbard, with the gun inserted into an opening at one longitudinal end.
While the above-described cases generally satisfactorily protect guns, most of them do not provide very quick access to the gun. By design, in order to increase protection and/or security, openings of different sorts must be accessed to get the gun out.
In certain situations, it is desired to maintain a gun in a readily accessible position inside or on a vehicle, yet still maintain a high degree of protection for the gun. One example is a mode of big game (for example, deer) hunting popular in a number of areas, which involves driving a vehicle (such as a pickup truck or SUV) down roads in game populated areas in order to sight game animals. Once a game animal is sighted, the vehicle is stopped, the hunter gets his or her gun into position (shooting either from within or without the vehicle) and the shot is taken. It will be appreciated that the elapsed time from sighting the animal until the shot must be taken must be short, or usually the animal will become spooked and leave the scene. In order to minimize time, the gun is often loaded, with ammunition in the magazine if not chambered; and the gun must obviously be in an accessible location.
In addition to sport hunters, other gun users have a need for secure, but ready access, holding of guns in or on vehicles. For example, farmers and ranchers often carry a gun to use for pest and varmint control, and law enforcement officers frequently have a need for holding firearms in a ready position inside their vehicles.
In these situations, a frequent way of carrying the gun, for a passenger, is to physically hold it with the muzzle pointing either straight up or angled down at the floorboard of the vehicle. The driver, however, must generally have both hands available for driving, therefore a typical practice has been to keep the gun simply muzzle-down on the floorboard, with the end of the barrel on the floorboard, and the mid-section of the gun resting on the seat. The grip and butt of the gun are therefore readily accessible. But this practice has numerous drawbacks. Since the gun is not really held in place by any restraints, safety is compromised as the gun can slide around, the muzzle potentially point at the driver or a passenger""s foot or leg, etc.; and the gun itself, or in the case of a scoped rifle, the telescopic sight, can be cosmetically or functionally damaged by banging against the interior of the vehicle.
While certain gun holders have been devised to hold guns in or on vehicles, generally such holders are of a rigid metal or plastic composite construction and must be semi-permanently or permanently installed in the vehicle. Such holders do not readily lend themselves to being taken from one vehicle into another. Many prior art design holders also do not provide complete protection for the gun, as most of the length of the gun is not covered, but is exposed and subject to scratching, etc. Examples of prior art holders include U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,447 to Jorgensen. Another limitation of gun holders such as that in U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,447 is that they make access to the center console storage compartment (most center consoles having a hinged lid, as shown in the Jorgensen reference) difficult or impossible with the gun holder in place, and particularly with a gun in place in the holder.
These problems give rise to the need for a gun holder which keeps a gun at a readily accessible position within the vehicle, for easy access by occupants of the vehicle; yet at the same time restrains the gun in place so as to increase safety and protect against damage, and in addition covers substantially all of the length of the gun. In addition, it is desired to have such a gun holder which is adapted to use in many different vehicles without customization to each, and which is of simple and inexpensive construction.
This invention is a gun holder with generally resilient bendable sidewalls forming a tapering cross-sectional or xe2x80x9cVxe2x80x9d shape, the lower narrow or apex portion which may be inserted into and preferably wedged into a seating space gap, which may be the space between bucket seats of a vehicle or the gap between the sections of split bench seats. The upper portions of the sidewalls may be spaced apart and support a strip of flexible sheet material between them, forming an open pocket into which a gun may be cradled, which may be padded for increased protection of the gun. The bendable sidewalls permit the gun holder to be wedged into the available seating space gap, with the tapering aspect of the cross sectional shape accommodating varying sizes of spaces, and be securely held in place by friction. A secure base for supporting the upper pocket is formed, and the gun is held in a ready position for easy access by the driver or a passenger. At the same time, most of the length of the gun is largely covered and protected from scratches, etc.